• Journal of the Korean Society of School Health
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.125-135
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• 2009

Purpose: This study is to identify the relations between alexithymia, emotional clarification, emotional expressiveness and somatic symptoms, and their effect on the elementary school students. Methods: This study targets 567 elementary school students and they are composed of 288 boy students and 279 girl students in 5th and 6th grade, and 283 in the 5th grade and 284 in the 6th grade. Results: In somatic symptoms, alexithymia, emotional clarification, and emotional expressivness, a significant difference is found. For the somatic symptoms and alexithymia, the subject in grade 5 show higher score than those in grade 6. For the emotional clarification, and emotional expressivness, the subjects in grade 5 show higher scores than those of grade 6. According to sex, only in emotional clarification, a significant difference is found between boys and girls and the girls show higher score that the boys. In looking at the correlations between alexithymia, emotional clarification and somatic symptoms, the somatic symptoms has positive correlations with alexithymia while it has negative correlations with emotional expressiveness. The alexithymia has negative correlations with emotional clarification and emotional expressiveness. It is found that the emotional clarification has positive correlations with emotional expressiveness. Conclusion: In respect to the effect of alexithymia, emotional clarification and emotional expressiveness on somatic symptoms, emotional alexithymia and emotional clarification have effect on somatic symptoms and emotional expressiveness has no effect on somatic symptoms.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.203-212
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• 1999

Objectives : "Alexithymia" mean literally "no word for mood(or emotion)". It is not only a marked constriction in emotional functioning but a deficit in their cognitive processing. We designed this study to investigate the level of alexithymia, psychopathology and personality factors of patients with somatoform disorder and with diabetes mellitus. Methods : The subjects were consisted of patients with somatoform disorder(N=20), patients with diabetes mellitus(N=20), and normal control(N=20). The level of alexithymia, psychopathology and personality factors were assessed by the Toronto Alexithymia Scale(TAS), the Symptom Checklist 90-Revision(SCL 90-R), and the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire(16-PF). And we compared demographic characteristics, psychopathology and personality factors among three groups, and assessed the relationship between alexithymia and psychopathology, and between alexithymia and personality factors. Results : The results were as follows. 1) Patients with somatoform disorder showed significantly higher TAS scores compared to patients with diabetes mellitus and the normal control group. 2) Patients With somatoform disorder showed significantly higher scores of somatization, anxiety scales than patients with diabetes mellitus and the normal control group, and showed significantly higher scores of obsessive-compulsive, depression, phobic anxiety, psychoticism scales than the normal control group by the SCL-90-R. 3) The normal control group showed high intelligence scores only as compared to patients with somatoform disorder by the 16-PF. 4) A significant relationship was found between TAS scores and psychopathology in patients with somatoform disorder. 5) All three groups did not shown any correlation between TAS and 16-PF. Conclusion : Patients with somatoform disorder showed higher TAS scores and more multiple psychopathology than patients with diabetes mellitus and the normal controls. A significant relationship was found between TAS scores and psychopathology in patients with somatoform disorder. We suggest that the therapeutic approach to patients with somatoform disorder to express emotions and manage psychopathology, and that the treatment methods of patients with diabetes mellitus aims to improve firstly physical conditions are more helpful.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.165-173
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• 2004

Objectives: Diabetes mellitus is a heterogeneous, chronic, progressive disease characterized by hyperglycemia and abnormality in protein, carbohydrate, fat metabolism. Recent studies have reorted two times prevalence of depression in individuals with diabetes compared to individuals without diabetics. This study was designed to investigate glycemic controls, anxiety, alexithymia, stress responses between depressed diabetic patients and non-depressed diabetic patients. Methods The subjects were 60 diabetic patients(mean age : $50.3{\pm}9.7$ years, 31 men and 29 women) who were confirmed to have diabetes depending on the laboratory findings as welt as clinical symptoms at the St. Vincent Hospital Diabetes Clinic, from Mar. 2004 to Sep. 2004. Laboratory test including, blood chemistry. glycated hemoglobin, urinalysis for proteinuria and Korean version of Beck Depression Inventory(BDI), State and Trait Anxiety Inventory(STAI), Toronto Alexithymia Scale(TAS) and Stress Response Inventory(SRI) were used for assessment. Based on BDI scores, all diabetics were divided into 13 depressed-diabetics group(above 20 point) and 47 non-depressed group(below 20 point). We compared demographic data. glycemic controls, STAI, TAS and SRI scores between two groups by independent t-test. Results : 1) Depressed diabetic groups were 13(mean age : $55.4{\pm}7.2$ years, 7 men and 6 women) and non depressed groups were 47(mean age $48.9{\pm}9.8$ years, 24 men and 23 women). In depressed diabetics, compared with non-depressed group, manifested aged(p=0.031), but other demographic data showed no difference between two groups. 2) No significant differences were noted in FBS, PP2h, Hb A1C, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, SGOT/SGPT, BUN levels between depressed and non-depressed groups. But, blood creatine levels of depressed group were significantly increased than non-depressed group(p=0.026). 3) No significant differences were found in the score of STAI, STAI-S, STAI-T, TAS between depressed and non-depressed groups. 4) The SRI scores of depressed groups were significantly higher than non-depressed groups$(59.7{\pm}24.9\;vs.\;31.5{\pm}22.0)(p=0.000)$. Conclusion : The above results suggest that depressed diabetic patients are have more stress responses and higher blood creatine levels. However, there were no differences in laboratory data related to glycemic controls, and anxiety. alexithymia levels between two groups. We suggest that physicians should consider integrated approaches for psychiatric problems in the management of diabetes.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.116-123
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• 1999

Objectives : The authors attempted to assess how much the mechanism of dissociation affects somatization disorder patients psychopathologically, and explore the relationship between sexual or physical abuse and somatic symptoms in somatization disorder patients. Methods : The authors administered the Dissociative Experiences Scales-Korean version(DESK) and Dissociative Disorders Interview Schedule to 25 patients with somatization disorder and 51 normal subjects. Results : There were no significant demographic differences between patient and control groups. The mean score of DES-K for patient group was 18.2, and 10.0 for the control group. The percentage of the individuals with high scores(20 and over) was 36.0 in the patient group and 7.8 in the control group, respectively. The percentage of the individuals with sexual and/or physical abuse was 16.0 in the patient group and zero in the control group. Our results showed that DES-K scores were not influenced by the factor of age or religion in either group, but the scores of the patients with somatization disorder were significantly higher than those in the normal subjects. Conclusion : There was an implication that the mechanism of dissociation affects issues of psychopathogenesis and psychopathology in Korean patients with somatization disorder, even though they have different sociocultural backgrounds in comparison to Western patients. The authors suggest it is useful to focus attention on childhood abuse and dissociation in the evaluation and dynamic psychotherapy of patients with somatization disorder.